cwallace's blog

In 2007, the Women’s Health Science Program developed a series of classes to give 16 high school students a chance to experience cutting-edge scientific research at Northwestern University. The program, called the Oncofertility Saturday Academy (OSA), is designed to “connect students to what’s happening in the real world,” says Megan Faurot, the Director of Education Programs for the group.  By 2009, the OSA grew to include 29 juniors and seniors in high school and became the subject of a documentary film entitled “OSA: Sisters in Science.” This film follows 6 Chicago public school students as they experience the rare opportunity to enter and perform experiments in a scientific laboratory. These girls carry out techniques from the emerging field of Oncofertility, which benefits young patients who lose their fertility due to cancer treatments. Their inspiring story premiers this Sunday, June 6 on the Big Ten Network.

Watch the trailer here.

While many education programs exist where professionals visit a school to instruct students, Faurot describes that the Oncofertility Saturday Academy decided the “best way to introduce and expose students to science is to bring the students to the university.” The Women’s Health Science Program, which has educated more than 70 girls to date, also teaches students about careers in science and medicine. Rather than listen to a lecture, students learn about potential careers by interacting with a diverse cast of instructors, including college-level students, research technicians, professors, and medical professionals. The young women in the documentary exit the Oncofertility Saturday Academy with both a greater interest in science and the tools to achieve their dreams.

Big Ten Network, will air the documentary to 55 million households across the nation on the following dates (all times are CT):

Sunday, June 6, 2010 – 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 – 12:00 p.m.

Thursday, June 10, 2010 – 3:00 a.m.

Wednesday, June 30 – 12:00 p.m.

On May 6, 2010, the Pew Research Center released a study on changes in the demographics of motherhood in the United States. Comparing data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Census Bureau from 1990 and 2008, the “The New Demography of American Motherhood” noted several dramatic shifts in who is becoming a mother in the past two decades. The report also incorporated the results of a nationally representative survey of Americans about attitudes on several trends regarding birth patterns conducted by the Pew Center in April 2009.

Among the most notable were the changes in the age of the women having babies. In 2008, there were more births to women over 35 (14%) then to teenagers (10%).  Indeed, the rate of births to women across race and ethnic groups over age 35 grew 64% between 1990 and 2008, with the birth rate of women over 40 tripling since 1990 (though still only 3% of all births; 43% of all births are still among women under age 35). The authors of the study note that the increase in older women having babies is part of the larger demographic trend in the United States; there are fewer women in their prime child-bearing years now and the youngest baby-boomers are in their mid-40s. In their survey, the Pew Research Center found that a plurality of Americans (47%) do not think it makes much difference if a woman becomes a mother over the age of 40. However, 33% disapproved of women over 40 having babies.

As part of this trend of older mothers, the study also cited an increase in the use of fertility treatments, especially for women over 30. Moreover, a third of all adults told the Pew survey that they know of a woman who has undergone fertility treatment. For college graduates, that number was 54%, and for those with a household income of $100,000 or more, 56% knew a woman who had undergone fertility treatments. A plurality of Americans (39%) told the Pew Center that it did not make a difference if women used fertility treatments in order to get pregnant; 28% said it was a good thing, 23% said it was bad for society, and 10% said they did not know or did not give an answer. However, younger respondents were more likely to say the trend was not a social problem. Of those 18-49, 46% believed it was not a concern, compared to 31% of adults who were 50 or older. Additionally, those with a college degree saw the trend as not being a social concern compared to those with at most a high school diploma (48% compared to 35%).

Another significant demographic change is the increase in the Hispanic population in the United States, a population with the highest birth rates in the country. Using 2004 data, the study found that nearly 1 in 4 babies born had a Hispanic mother (24%), up from 1 in 7 in 1990 (14%).

Finally, in analyzing the NCHS data, the Pew study found an increase in unmarried women having children: in 2008, women who were not married accounted for 41% of births, up from 28% in 1990. Again, the study tied this change to the larger demographic change of people marrying later in life and/or not marrying at all. The Pew Center survey found, however, that Americans’ attitudes are not consistent with this trend: most Americans (65%) indicated that the rise in unmarried mothers was bad for society.

An executive summary with a link to a pdf of the full report can be found on the Pew Research Center web site:  http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1586/changing-demographic-characteristics-american-mothers

On Sunday May 24, Dr. Woodruff travels to New York to address the 3rd Annual OMG! Cancer Summit.  The Summit, held in partnership between the I’m Too Young For This Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, is a major international oncology conference and social networking event for young adults affected by all cancers, as well as their caregivers.  This year’s event features guest speakers from all over the world.

Dr. Woodruff will be speaking about oncofertility and the fertility needs of young patients facing a cancer diagnosis.

Infertility, the inability to have children, should be a concern to men and women of childbearing age undergoing treatment for their cancer.   Treatments like chemotherapy, radiation and surgery can all impact your fertility.

Chemotherapy, while extremely effective at treating cancer, can cause damage to the germ cells, the egg and sperm cells, in your body.  Not all chemotherapies will cause infertility.  The type, dose and length of treatment play a role in factoring the damage done to germ cells.  Radiation is another type of treatment that can cause infertility in men and women.  Radiation to the pelvic region of the body can cause cellular damage while radiation to the head and neck can cause the body to stop hormone production that is necessary for reproduction.  Cancer-related surgeries that occur in the reproductive organs of the body also have the potential to affect your fertility. 

For more information and to watch animations about this, visit:

http://www.myoncofertility.org/animations/what_normal_female_fertility_and_how_it_affected_cancer_treatment

http://www.myoncofertility.org/animations/what_normal_male_fertility_and_how_it_affected_cancer_treatment

The good news is that there are plenty of options out there to preserve fertility.  You need an individualized consultation to determine the best and most mature technology available for your unique circumstances in order to make an informed decision.  The Oncofertility Consortium can help guide you through that process and put you in touch with the right centers to help you navigate through cancer and fertility treatments.